No Brake Lights! Have A Fix-It Ticket!!!

[Bambikiller240]

Agreed! (ten charecters)

[DoctorMuffn]

Okay! I found it - the flasher - but I don't know how it works...

Or rather I think I've found it. If you take a quick moment to visit my gallery you'll see the pictures I just uploaded. I can't link them for you now because they are pending approval or something. But that's my kick panel and that's the piece I pulled out. it's the only round component I could find that even remotely resembles a barrel; everything else is rectangular as can be seen. It has two green wires coming off of it. I can take it out, but I don't know how to test it. It seems simple so I checked for continuity. I mean if it's a flasher it should have a bimetallic strip or something that creates contact or closes the circuit but then heats up and bends away opening the circuit much like a circuit breaker in a house, but I'm not really sure.

I then tried to bypass and close the circuit with a jumper in place of that component, but my hazards didn't come on. I half expected them to come on with a pull of the switch as power was directed through my jumper but stay on as there was no flashing unit; keep in mind I'm still guessing, as I don't know if it's even the right part yet. But it was to no avail I didn't see any hazard/brake lights come on. I'm ready and willing I just need more direction.

[DoctorMuffn]

Oh and I do challenge all of my tickets... I'll share that with you guys when I go to court and the sheriff neglects to show like they have 3 times before.

[Bambikiller240]

If your pictures are awaiting approval, we won't be able to see them until they are approved.

HOWEVER, you can attach them to your post.

Click EDIT, the when the EDIT PAGE appears, scroll down and click on MANAGE ATTACHMENTS. Click on BROWSE, find the pic in your computer directory, "double click" on it to SELECT, then click on UPLOAD (located in the MANAGE ATTACHMENTS WINDOW. Close the M.A. window and click OK (or whatever) on the EDIT page and you're done.

[DoctorMuffn]

Thanks, Carl. I'll try it here then.

[Bambikiller240]

My car is a 72, and I don't think my Hazard flasher looks like that (been a while since I dug under there to look at it), but like you say, it appears to be the only barrel shaped one under there. It's quite possible that the flasher changed between 72 and 73 as the electrical system changed quite a bit over that year.

I'm sure Enrique (EScanlon) will be able to confirm if that is it. He has a 73 IIRC, and will know better than I.

[DoctorMuffn]

Thanks again, Carl. I will check back again tomorrow of course, but one thing is for sure - I'm not gonna pay some guy to fix it for me without exhausting all of my resources first and trying to learn something. I know I can do it with Classic Zcar's help and MSA's expense is quite a good motivator.

Until tomorrow.

[EScanlon]

I've got a 71 and a 72, but I don't think that's the Hazard Flasher. I may be wrong, but it looks more like the KD Solenoid for the KD switch on an Automatic car.

But now that I think back, you might check directly behind the radio on the driver's side. There should be two flasher's there. The Turn Signal one is right by the Steering Column and the Hazard one is closer to the center console. But they both look like standard flashers.

Check that out, I'm still betting on it being your flasher that's out.

Enrique

[DoctorMuffn]

I hope it is just my flasher. It sounds so much easier to replace than a switch. Anyway, I'll check for those flashers tomorrow morning in my auto class.

[DoctorMuffn]

I just realized... maybe I should mention that I don't have an automatic tranny hehehe; it's 4 speed. And the wires leaving my break switch are the same color green as the wires entering this electronic device. I'm going to visit or call MSA to find out what the "relay" (as they call it) flasher unit looks like.

[DoctorMuffn]

Fixed it!!!

It turns out that the little electrical "drum" I am holding in the picture was not my hazard flasher/relay, but the boxy guy to the the right of him in the kick panel was. I tried to replace flasher/relay with my buddy's good one, but the brakes and hazards still didn't work.

All said and done I went to a friend's house tonight ready to tear the dash apart to pull the hazard switch and every damn component that I thought might be remotely related to the circuit. It was, however, my intention to check the easy stuff first and thoroughly with my ohm meter for continuity and volt meter for where the power stops circulating within the circuit. I started with the fuses and notice the brake light fuse was wide open in my continuity test; which was extremely odd because it looked damned perfect! So I change it with my horn fuse (which should have been a 10 ampere but happened to be a 20) and oila! The little lights started shining to my prompt brake pedal depressions and the sounds of my furious laments.

We broke the glass casing of the fuse to find that it had burned itself out at the very edge inside where it connects to the metal contact point.

Moral:

If you are checking fuses don't just look at the damned things... Pull 'em out and check for continuity. And walking your way back through the circuit with a DVOM is really the best way to diagnose the problem.Thanks for all your input and support guys.

Sean

[EScanlon]

Sean:

You just lived through what we've been posting here for the past few years.

Enrique